23 Jan 2009, That Vijay Mallya,
the flamboyant chairman of the UB group, likes the good life is well known.
His penchant for fast cars, castles, horses, jets, yachts, game lodges
and bling is well chronicled. It looks as if islands are his latest passion.

The buzz in Bangalore is
that he has bought an island in Europe, ostensibly off the coast of Monte
Carlo, though the exact location couldn’t be verified. Multiple sources
involved in the deal have confirmed the news to TOI and indicated that
the price Mallya paid was between $100 million and $150 million (Rs 500
crore to Rs 750 crore). The man himself rubbished the news. Said Mallya,
“Island? Rs 800 crore? Complete nonsense. Please quote me on this.’’ We
have.

This wouldn’t be the first
island that Mallya would own. He bought a string of islands north of the
Maldives years ago and now runs resorts in these islands. At one point
he had a stake in an aircraft company that offered hopping flights to these
islands. Recently, he acquired the island of Thinnakkara off the cost of
Lakshwadeep .

Mallya in his personal capacity
has heavily invested in the tourism space. He owns the Mabula Game Lodge,
close to Johannesburg in South Africa. Spread over 12,000 hectares it is
said to be one of South Africa’s finest private game reserves. He is believed
to have bought about 1,000 acres of land in the Himalayas to promote high
end tourist properties there.

Mallya’s lifestyle — the
sheer scale and lavishness of it — leaves most bedazzled . He has houses
around the globe; castles in Scotland, town houses in London, Monte Carlo,
Manhattan (Trump Towers), Sausalito and innumerable properties in India.
While ‘Niladri’ in Mumbai and ‘Kingfisher Villa’ in Goa are the best known,
he has hidden gems like the heritage, colonial bunglow with the best garden
in Ooty, besides houses in Delhi and his home town Bangalore.

His three yachts: Indian
Empress, Indian Princess and Kalizma, his four private jets, his 240-strong
vintage car collection, his Force India Formula 1 team and thoroughbreads
not to mention the Porsches, Bentleys, Maserattis and Ferraris make Mallya
the most colourful of Indian businessmen.